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Directing immediate steps to safeguard Delhi's notified heritage properties, the Delhi High Court has ordered the concerned Municipal body to conduct a comprehensive survey of all buildings located in the vicinity of such heritage sites to verify whether existing and ongoing constructions conform to sanctioned building plans and prescribed norms.
The direction was issued by a Division Bench of Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Tejas Karia while hearing a batch of writ petitions highlighting alleged violations around heritage structures across the national capital. At the outset, the Court observed that the petitions raise serious concerns about the preservation of the character and integrity of properties that have been officially declared as heritage properties. The Bench noted that constructions carried out in close proximity to such heritage sites often tend to alter their visual and structural character and, in several cases, result in defacement of heritage buildings. The Court recorded the petitioners' grievance that while granting approvals for building plans, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi frequently overlooks mandatory building bye-laws as well as the advice and recommendations issued by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC). It was further alleged that occupants and developers of buildings situated near heritage properties routinely deviate from the sanctioned building plans, thereby causing irreversible damage to the heritage precincts. Taking note of these submissions, the High Court directed that a physical survey must be carried out by the concerned Municipal Body for all buildings situated in the vicinity of the heritage properties mentioned in the petitions. The purpose of the survey, the Court clarified, is to ascertain whether the constructions raised are strictly in accordance with the approved and sanctioned building plans and in compliance with applicable norms. To ensure effective oversight, the Bench ordered that the survey team constituted by the Municipal Body shall mandatorily include one officer of the Heritage Conservation Committee, to be nominated by the Chairperson of the HCC. The Court further directed that separate survey reports for each heritage property covered by the petitions must be prepared and filed before the Court. The Bench also ordered that copies of the survey reports be served upon the counsel for the petitioners, granting them liberty to file their responses, if any, to the findings of the survey before the next date of hearing. Clarifying the scope of the directions, the Court stated that the expression "heritage building/structure/properties" used in the order shall be understood to mean only those properties which are enlisted in the relevant heritage notifications. Emphasising the urgency of the matter, the High Court directed that the entire survey exercise must be completed within a period of three months. The batch of petitions has been listed for further consideration on May 15, 2026. (ANI)
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